


The Christmas Plan

by Reidemption (Charlie_Remington)



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Christmas fic, Led by Garcia, M/M, Mistletoe, Scheming team, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-09 10:48:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5537105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charlie_Remington/pseuds/Reidemption
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“So, agents,” Penelope said, continuing to pet the stuffed animal, “would you like to hear my plan?” she asked with a grin. The five friends got closer together as the technical agent laid out the plan.</i>
</p>
<p>***<br/>In which the team schemes in order to get Hotch and Reid together under mistletoe, and everyone has a very merry Christmas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Christmas Plan

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EloquentDossier](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EloquentDossier/gifts).



> I'm gifting my first official H/R fic to EloquentDossier who's been helping me get up the courage to post and is truly a wonderful friend. I hope everyone has had a very merry Christmas.

“Okay,” Penelope whispered conspiratorially to her friends, “Does everyone know their roles?”

Four pairs of eyes rolled skyward at the emphasis she appeared to be putting on this, like if it didn’t happen this way, everything would be ruined.

***

Weeks ago, Penelope had cornered Morgan, JJ, Emily, and Rossi as they were leaving the BAU. “We need a plan to get those two together, and I know just the thing,” she’d said, steering them all down to her office instead of to the elevators where they had been heading.

“Get who together?” JJ asked.

“Here we go again,” Emily muttered under her breath.

“What are you up to now?” Morgan asked, grinning indulgently.

“Why, our fearless leader and boy genius. Haven’t you noticed their torrid love affair?” she questioned and was faced with four blank stares. “How their gazes will meet across the table in the round table room, how Hotch will always insist that Reid have the last cup of coffee, how close they stand whenever the group is together. They’re practically married already, and yet they won’t do anything about it,” Garcia gushed hand to her chest, a thoughtful frown turning down her lips.

“You’ve officially gone off the deep-end. Hotch and Reid?” JJ asked.

“Torrid love affair? Have you been reading erotica again,” Emily said, snickering.

Morgan was about to speak up again, but Garcia pointed at him accusingly. “Don’t you ‘you be trippin’ me. I’ve seen it with my own two eyes. They are madly in love with each other and are too noble to do anything about it,” Garcia said.

Morgan, Emily, and JJ turned to Rossi, who had yet to input anything. “What can I say, it does sound like something they’d do. And I’ve caught Aaron looking in Reid’s direction now and again, in more than just a professional manner,” he said, causing Penelope to grin brightly.

“Just watch in the next few days. And, when you’re ready to admit I’m right, you can all come back here and I’ll tell you my plan,” Penelope said, shooing them back out.

The team went back the way they had come and exited the building, everyone wondering if Penelope was really onto something.

***

The next day, everyone had remembered what Garcia had said, and with the added scrutiny, they began to notice things.

JJ had gone down into the bullpen and noticed Hotch and Reid discussing a file. Instead of standing to converse or Reid turning his chair around, Hotch was standing behind where Reid was seated. His right hand resting on the desk past Reid’s shoulder and his left hand pointing out things in the file. Hotch was speaking quietly into Reid’s ear and the genius would turn his head minutely to answer back, their faces only inches apart. When they were done, Hotch stepped back and gripped Reid’s shoulder for just a moment, favoring Reid with a soft upturn of his lips and Reid answered back with a shy grin, ducking his head after a moment. With that, Hotch returned to his office, nodding politely at JJ as he passed.

JJ had to pause, perhaps Garcia was right.

A few hours later, Morgan arrived in the bullpen to accompany Reid to lunch. They drove to a sandwich shop a few miles away. They conversed, as normal, shooting the breeze. Morgan didn’t even realize when Reid ordered an extra sandwich to go, until they had arrived back at Quantico and Reid was carrying a small bag with the sandwich in it. Instead of returning to his office, Morgan followed Reid into the bullpen, citing coffee as an excuse. He watched Reid ascend the stairs and duck into Hotch’s office, setting the sandwich off to the side on Hotch’s desk and disappearing without Hotch even looking up. Morgan watched as a few moments later, Hotch moved his hand over to grab another file and his hand fell on the sandwich. The unit chief smiled, looking out into the bullpen where Reid was back to work, not looking up, but with a small smirk curling upon his lips.

That definitely wasn’t normal behavior, Morgan decided.

Emily had sat at her desk and counted the number of times Reid had looked at Hotch’s office and gone up there. A short lifting of eyes, just to make sure Hotch was still there every time Reid stretched his back. Not to mention at least four trips throughout the day to discuss something while normally, the young man didn’t move from his desk unless it was to grab coffee.

At the end of the day, four agents went back down to Garcia’s office with their metaphorical tails between their legs.

Garcia turned in her chair, petting a fluffy stuffed animal, “Agents, I’ve been awaiting you,” she smirked at them.

“So, maybe you were onto something,” JJ said, hands clasped behind her back.

“Mmhmm, what did they do today?” Garcia asked, as though she wanted to catalogue what happened each day.

“Serious invasion of space, in the middle of the bullpen. Hotch is always so distant at work and Spence hardly allows anyone that close to him for a moment let alone five minutes,” JJ said, a furrow in her brow.

“Reid brought Hotch a sandwich, and Hotch smiled at Reid, knowing exactly who had brought it,” Morgan said.

“Reid actually took breaks today, to look up at Hotch and took several trips to visit him. And Hotch didn’t exactly seem to mind the interruptions,” Emily added with a smirk.

“Aaron brought Reid coffee every time he got up to refill his own mug,” Rossi continued, having watched the genius begin drinking the fresh coffee with the same zeal as if he had made it himself.

“So, agents,” Penelope said, continuing to pet the stuffed animal, “would you like to hear my plan?” she asked with a grin.

The five friends got closer together as the technical agent laid out the plan.

***

And that’s how Garcia wrangled the other four into attempting to catch Hotch and Reid together under a bundle of mistletoe at Garcia’s Christmas party.

She made sure that everyone knew what their role in the plan was, and went back to rearranging the food in the kitchen.

Morgan was awaiting Reid’s arrival, standing in the kitchen. Rossi was tasked with getting Hotch in place. Emily and JJ, along with the addition of Will, were meant to distract the children as well as make sure the men couldn’t escape to a different room of the apartment, blocking entrances.

Reid arrived moments later, a bag of gifts and a covered dish in his hands.

“Come on in, honey. Gifts under the tree, plate in the kitchen,” Garcia chirped happily, hugging Reid close and leading him inside.

Reid followed directions and then went over to where Morgan was in one corner of the kitchen.

“Hey, Pretty Boy,” Morgan grinned, clapping Reid on the back. They were engaged in conversation by the time that another knock on the door signaled the arrival of the Hotchner men.

Jack quickly raced off to the couch where Henry was playing quietly, leaving Hotch to lug in bags of gifts and the containers of cookies he and Jack had made. Hotch dropped the bags by the tree and headed for the kitchen when Rossi came up behind him and turned him around. They had stopped with Hotch standing in the doorway to the kitchen, Rossi’s hand on his arm.

“Dave, can’t I put these down first?” Aaron asked, face annoyed but tone light with amusement.

“I have to tell you now, or I’ll forget,” Rossi said looking around Aaron’s shoulder to catch Morgan’s eye before launching into a story to distract the other man.

At the same time, Morgan was backing Reid up towards the doorway until the two targets were side by side.

Suddenly, a squeal of excitement filled the air and everyone turned to see Garcia pointing up at the eaves above the doorway. A sprig of mistletoe tied up with a red ribbon was hanging just above the two men. “You have to kiss! It’s tradition,” Penelope said, clapping her hands.

Everyone expected hesitation, blushing, perhaps even bargaining. Morgan had entertained the thought of Reid bolting out the door to avoid the embarrassment. But, no one came close to what actually happened.

“Hold that thought, Dave,” Hotch said, an almost imperceptible upturn of his lips, eyebrows slightly raised as he turned to face where Reid had turned his back to the doorjamb. Hotch shifted the containers to one hand, using the other to tip Reid’s face up. They looked at each other for just a moment, noses brushing before Reid closed the distance. A soft press of lips, slightly longer than a peck, ending with Hotch teasingly nipping at Reid’s bottom lip, a soft rumbling chuckle escaping his chest. And just like that, it was over, Hotch turning his attention back to Rossi.

“Can that wait just another second so I can put these down?” he asked again, taking in the dumbstruck looks.

Penelope’s jaw was nearly on the floor, Morgan’s eyebrows had raised as far as they could go, JJ’s hand was over her mouth, and Emily was biting her lip to conceal a grin. Rossi had no such reservations and was smiling delightedly at the newfound information. Will was also smiling from his position on the floor in front of the two young boys.

While the kiss was not long, it spoke of familiarity. The type that could only come from having kissed multiple times before, and every adult in the room knew it.

Aaron turned and set the containers on the counter in the kitchen before returning, slinging an arm around Spencer’s waist.

“Did Aaron and I forget to mention we’ve been dating for nearly two years now?” Spencer asked with a wry grin.

“Oh, you’ve got jokes?” Morgan asked, coming up behind the couple, ruffling Spencer’s hair.

Spencer laughed as he straightened his hair back out. He allowed Morgan to draw him into a hug and JJ shortly after.

Morgan and Rossi both stepped up to shake Aaron’s hand.

Penelope couldn’t control herself and hugged both of them together as she dabbed at her eyes.

Rossi moved over to kiss Spencer’s cheeks as Will stepped up to offer his congratulations.

Penelope was practically vibrating with excitement as she led everyone to sit down in a circle in her living room. “I want to know everything, no skimping on the details,” she said, settling down beside Morgan and leaning forward over her legs.

“Wait, you have to tell us who suspected something first,” Spencer said, settling a hand on Aaron’s knee and looking around at the group.

“That would be Garcia,” Rossi said and Spencer’s face fell.

Aaron, however, laughed and held out a hand, “Pay up,” he said and Spencer groaned as he pulled out his wallet to deposit a 20 dollar bill into Aaron’s upturned palm.

“I thought for sure JJ would’ve noticed first,” Reid complained.

“I keep saying that Penelope ought to consider becoming a profiler,” Aaron said, depositing the money in his pocket and smiling over at the woman in question.

“When was it? Last week in the roundtable room when he grabbed my files to carry them? 27 days ago when he brought me my jacket that I’d left at his apartment when only you were in the room to notice?” Reid suggested, glaring at Hotch who just shrugged.

“Of course not, honey. I started noticing months ago, seemingly before you began being more obvious about it. You’d look just a little too long at each other, and he only smiles like that,” she paused to point at Hotch, “when he’s looking at you,” she said, and Reid ducked his head, looking up through his lashes as Hotch rested his hand over Reid’s own.

Just then, Jack got up to stand next to Reid. “Henry wants to see that trick you showed me a few days ago,” he whispered, not wanting to disturb the adults’ conversation.

Reid smiled and patted Hotch’s knee before sitting down on the floor with the boys to entertain them with magic.

The topic of their relationship was dropped, and groups broke off to talk about various things, eating, and opening gifts. The team was happy, for what seemed like the first time in ages. Christmas music filled the air and not a thought was spared for the evil they face every day in their jobs.

And, finally Hotch and Reid were able to leave together, Hotch carrying a sleeping Jack and Reid carrying the bags full of gifts.

“I’m glad the team knows now,” Reid mused, opening the door to the apartment building.

“Me too. Are you ready to make good on the second part of our bet?” Hotch asked, sending a suggestive glance Reid’s way.

Reid laughed and nudged the older man’s shoulder as they walked to Hotch’s SUV. A light dusting of snow coated their shoes, big flakes falling softly around them, clinging to their hair and clothing.

Hotch set Jack down in the backseat, and Reid set the bags in beside the boy.

They stepped back, looking up at the sky as the flakes melted on their upturned faces. The street lamps casting a warm golden glow over both of them. Aaron leaned in to kiss Spencer softly, brushing snow-filled hair back behind an ear.

“Merry Christmas, Spencer,” he whispered, hand cupping his partner’s cheek.

“Merry Christmas, Aaron.”


End file.
